The Denver Broncos have absolutely needed some help at the running back position for multiple years now, and through the first 10 games of the 2025 NFL Season, it appeared that J.K. Dobbins was slamming the door shut on any concerns in the running back room.
However, in a freak injury thanks to an illegal hip-drop tackle, Dobbins suffered what turned into a season-ending foot injury. From that point on, then-rookie RJ Harvey was essentially stepping into that RB1 role, and while he did find the end zone 12 times during his rookie season, his down-to-down efficiency as a runner just was not there.
And his vision in between the tackles was just not nearly good enough. Harvey averaged under 4.0 yards per carry, and that threshold has to be sustained if any running back wants to be effective in the NFL. Well, the latest Broncos camp update from Saturday's practice does give rookie running back Jonah Coleman a ton of praise in this key area.
Denver Broncos rookie Jonah Coleman is gunning for the RB2 job in 2026
With Dobbins being brought back on a two-year deal, he is the RB1 of this football team. He's not going to be a bell-cow running back, as his injury concerns honestly make that impossible, but this update from Parker Gabriel on Coleman really gets you excited for what could be to come out of the backfield:
Jonah Coleman so far in camp has consistently produced between the tackles at a higher level than any back on the #Broncos roster not named J.K. Dobbins.
— Parker Gabriel (@ParkerJGabriel) August 8, 2026
Not only does this paint Coleman in a good light, but it also may indicate that Harvey simply has not taken that sizeable of a step as a pure runner. We have seen Harvey show-out as a pass-catcher during camp, and with this update, Harvey could settle into a true third-down role out of the backfield.
And as for Coleman, this does bode well for his chances to get those mop-up carries that the Broncos don't want to give Dobbins to preserve his health. In the 2025 season, Dobbins carried the ball about 15 times per game. I'd be shocked, personally, if the Broncos wanted to again give Dobbins that kind of workload, especially with Coleman now in the picture.
And with Coleman seemingly standing out as a runner and being able to create between the tackles does give the Broncos that clear-cut option to shave a few carries from Dobbins' workload. There could end up being a scenario in 2026 where Dobbins averages, let's say, 11-ish carries per game, with Coleman picking up the pieces, and Harvey being the primary receiving threat.
Unless something radical changes with Harvey, it just does not seem like he's trending toward having a notable role as a runner, as he's truly a better receiving back than running back, which is both awesome and troublesome.
And, once again, it's important to note that head coach Sean Payton did compare Coleman's running style to Dobbins earlier in the offseason, so this update does track with what the coach(es) saw in their evaluation process.
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